RURAL PARISH COUNCIL CHAIRMANS REPORT FOR YEAR ENDED 31.3. 07.

First of all I thank all my fellow councillors for their support over the past year, also to Malcolm for his work as Clerk.

PARISH COUNCILORS:

The full allocation was completed on 6th march 2007 when Gordon Ellis was co-opted. During the year new councillors have attended training courses.

COUNCIL MEETINGS:

Ten full meetings have been held with the venues alternating between and .

E.S.B.C. ABBEY WARD REPRESENTATIVE:

Kathy Lamb has kept us well informed on planning issues that affect our parish.

STAFFS COUNTY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE:

Thank you to Philip Atkin for helping to secure £2000 from Uttoxeter Plus towards land costs of the pavement at .

PLANNING APPLICATIONS: A summary of planning applications shows: -

Housing AND Farm Buildings:- Bramshall: 6 Stramshall: 15 Loxley/Willslock etc. 11

Industrial: - 9

This is a similar number to the previous year.

DRAFT LOCAL PLAN

The Plan was finally issued in July 2006.

EMPLOYMENT SITES IN UTTOXETER RURAL:-

Waterloo Park 16.18 Ha Bramshall Camp 0.89 Ha HOUSING:-

No allocation of land in Uttoxeter rural.

W.A.S.P.

The re-organisation of staff at E.S.B.C. left us without an official during 2006/7.

BRAMSHALL TRAFFIC CALMING: - Stone Road.

This again has been a major disappointment as despite much correspondence, contact with MP Janet Dean and site meetings, no progress has been made.

The survey for a vas did not score high enough to warrant installation.

PAVEMENT STRAMSHALL TO SPATH .

As promised by the county council the section from Spath to Bridgefarm was completed in March 2007.

Many favourable comments have been received from residents and volunteers to plant bulbs / flowers have also been received.

The plan is to have a pavement from Broomyclose Lane to Bridgefarm and the Council has written to the landowner.

COMMUNITY SPEED WATCH.

Bramshall: Speed checks have been carried out during the year.

Stramshall: No speed checks have been carried out due to work commitments of the two volunteers. More volunteers are needed.

STRAMSHALL PLAYING FIELD:

The field has been mown on the usual regular basis. The general condition was seen to be good by the best kept village judges. As a result of Mr. Orme’s work in motivating the children, funds were generated to have the football pitch marked out and mown more regularly during the year. The downside of this is that the pitch is so good that it attracts boys from Uttoxeter who leave a lot of litter behind.

BRAMSHALL PLAY AREA:

We still only have the small area by the village hall, only suitable for toddlers. Despite pleas to local landowners no one is prepared to rent any land.

SPATH GREEN:

The green has been maintained again to a high standard by Mr McCullough. The owner of the adjacent cottage has trespassed on to the green and created a chicken run with a shed. This matter is in the hands of the County Council Legal Department, but progress is very slow.

ALLOTMENTS:

Currently all allotments are taken.

PARISH PLANS:

Colleen Savage was appointed as Village Agent in August 2006. Meetings were held in Bramshall and Stramshall in September 2006 with residents who had expressed interest in writing the Village Plan. Stramshall now has a Draft Plan which it is planned to finalise by end June 2007. The Action Group has to be reformed.

Bramshall’s progress is a little slow and we need to get more involved to bring the plan forward.

BEST KEPT VILLAGE 2006:

Stramshall came second in the small village category. Thanks are extended to all the volunteers and children for their posters.

Stramshall has entered the 2007 competition.

BRAMSHALL GATEWAY:

An opening ceremony was held in May 2006 and the site remains an excellent feature to Bramshall. The Gateway is sponsored by S. Large the landscaper.

PRECEPT 2007/8:

This was set at £12,220 which is the same as the previous tear.

MAJOR FRUSTRATIONS:-

1. Failure of ESBC and County Councils to respond to correspondence in a reasonable time, plus lame excuses of never receiving letters.

2. Lack of response by ESBC to maintenance requests to repair road signs (still waiting after 12 months in some cases)

3. No sense of urgency for unnamed roads to be named despite the need by paramedics / emergency services.

4. Failure by ESBC to provide litter bins at old Ashbourne Rd county depot for MacDonald’s rubbish.